You can host interactive, engaging gatherings right on Gradual with a variety of interactive video calls called Roundtables, Meeting Rooms, and Webinars. Facilitate breakout rooms, engage large groups of attendees, or build new connections in more intimate roundtable discussions. Gradual leverages common meeting room functionality so participants will be familiar with and comfortable in these calls.
This guide explores the different ways you can host interactive video calls within Livestream events, as their own stand-alone events, or as ongoing community activities.
Roundtables
Community Roundtables
Interactive video calls at the community level are called Roundtables. They appear on the community homepage and members can join without having to register. You can assign optional hosts and schedule time slots for these to take place. You can have multiple roundtables active at a time and set the capacity for each. Users can pop in and out of the calls and see who’s in each of them from the ‘Roundtables’ tab in the menu. Everyone participating has the ability to be on camera, audio and screen share in Roundtables. Hosts can assign breakout rooms within but cannot record these roundtables.
Roundtables currently have a 125-capacity limit to the number of attendees who can actively participate and engage in the call - this includes hosts.
Great use case: Host weekly office hours with your team. Invite members to join in and ask the team questions or continue a conversation from an event that week. This provides a low-effort and low-friction way for members to engage regularly with your community team.
Space-restricted Roundtables have been recently released, allowing users in a Space to access and engage in a community-level roundtable. This roundtable will appear on the homepage of just those in the space, and they will have access to a persistent chat with just those who've attended or are actively engaging in the roundtable.
Learn how to build a Community Roundtable.
In-Event Roundtables
Within an event, you can host multiple, concurrent Roundtables. You can assign hosts and schedule time slots for these to take place, but attendees can join and leave as they please, as long as the rooms are open. Roundtables in an event live in the ‘Roundtables’ tab in the menu and users can access them through that tab. Roundtables in an event are different than a meeting room listed in the agenda as they offer concurrent opportunities for connection. Roundtables are great networking spaces for when you want to host multiple interactive video calls at the same time, and provide the ability for everyone participating to be on camera, audio, and screen share. Assigned hosts now have the capability to record the roundtable, control attendees' audio, and pin or spotlight speakers.
Roundtables currently have a 125 capacity limit to the number of attendees who can actively participate and engage in the call.
Meeting rooms are similar, but listed and joined directly within the event agenda. More on in-event, in-agenda meeting rooms are below.
Great use case: During the afternoon break, offer attendees multiple roundtables where they can jump in and out to meet and greet keynote speakers from that morning’s sessions.
Learn how to build an In-Event Roundtable.
Meeting Rooms
All meeting rooms currently have a 125 capacity limit to the number of attendees who can actively participate and engage in the call.
In-Event In-Agenda Meeting Rooms
Within an event, you can host interactive breakout sessions as Meeting Rooms. They appear within an event in the agenda and are used for timely, more focused video calls within the schedule of the event. Members must register for the event, and can only access these rooms from within the agenda. These are similar to roundtables, but meeting rooms are structured within the agenda, and don’t run concurrently to other meeting rooms.
All uses can be on camera, audio, and screen share, no matter if they are a host or not. Assigned hosts have the capability to configure break-out rooms from within the call, record the session, and have increased capabilities to control attendees' audio and who is spotlit or pinned in users' view. You can also now host Q&A within the meeting rooms within the agenda.
Great use case: Host a workshop with a content expert that is specific to certain attendee tracks, and hosted over a set time in the sequence of the schedule.
Learn how to build an In-Event Meeting Room.
Meeting Room Events
Meeting Rooms can stand alone as their own event, rather than as part of an event’s agenda, too. They appear as an event in the community and members need to register to attend and interact in the call. When a user joins the event, they are guided straight into the interactive call.
All uses can be on camera and audio, no matter if they are a host or not. Assigned hosts have the capability to screen share, enable a waiting room, configure break-out rooms from within the call, record the session, and have increased capabilities to control attendees' audio and who is spotlit or pinned in users' view. There is also a Panelist role in meeting room events which have the ability to screen share.
Great use case: Bring together all district directors for a call-to-action meeting, and then assign break-out rooms per region to help them collaborate on chapter events for the upcoming quarter.
Learn how to build a Meeting Room Event.
Webinars
Webinar events are Gradual's newest event type, combining the livestream experience and a meeting event. They allow you to present natively in Gradual and provide an interactive video call for a larger audience of attendees of up to 350 attendees.
Most attendees are behind the scenes (off-screen and audio), but assigned hosts can bring attendees on screen to present live on video and screen share.
Webinars currently have a 350 capacity limit to the number of attendees who can actively participate and engage in the call.
Great use case: Host a panel discussion with a host and four panelists, and then bring attendees on screen for face-to-face Q&A and engagement.
Learn how to build a Webinar.